which language is easier in learning ..Spanish or Italian?

Question

i speak Arabic English and i know some french,,but i would like to learn Spanish or Italian... so i was wondering which is simple in learning

Answer 1

I have learned both as second languages.

Spanish is a little bit easier than Italian.

The main difference is the fact that Spanish is a completely phonetic language - once you have learned the rules of stress and the correct placement of accents, you can always predict the correct pronunciation from the writing with total accuracy.

Italian is also very phonetic in the way it is written, but unlike Spanish, the position of the stressed syllable in a word cannot always be determined from the way it is written.

The Spanish verb system is also a bit easier than the Italian one - firstly because there are many fewer irregular verbs, and secondly because Italian (like French) uses two auxiliary verbs to form the compund tenses (avere and essere), whereas Spanish only uses one (haber). And the subjunctive tends to be used rather more in Italian than it is in Spanish.

But on the other hand, Spanish has two verbs for "to be" (ser and estar), which are both used a lot, and the correct choice of verb is a major learning challenge. Italian also has two (essere and stare), but "stare" is used much less in Italian than "estar" is used in Spanish, so Italian does not give learners significant difficulty in this context.

In summary, from my experience as a student of both languages, I would say that Spanish is easier than Italian, but the difference in the degree of difficulty is not very large. I would also say, although you didn't ask for this opinion, that Italian is the most rewarding language to learn.

It may also be worth bearing in mind, as a French speaker, that you will find Italian grammar and vocabulary is closer to French than it is to Spanish ... so you may in fact find Italian slightly easier.

My perspective is that of a native English speaker, but your position is different. Given that the difference in difficulty is not great, I think you should give more weight to other criteria - do you want to learn for career advancement or work opportunities (in that case, Spanish would be best), or for cultural interest (in which case, I would lean towards Italian, but I am biased - it's a purely personal decision).

Answer 2

Well, I don't have too much experience with Italian but in my opinion Spanish is the easiest. It has the most straightforward grammar of the bunch. With that said though Italian seems to only be a step up from that but French on the other hand is where things start to get tricky. I learned Spanish and Portuguese with next to know problems for both. But French is taking me a bit longer to learn. Then again, it may just be because I'm learning the language by myself. But I've also noticed that pronunciation is a bit harder with French so that takes some getting used to. Other than that, they are all fantastic languages and I'd even like to learn Italian one day. Cheers!

Answer 3

In Spanish the verb forms tend to be conjugated in more instances than in Italian.
i.e. in Spanish you have both the positive and negative imperative, however in Italian you have only the positive.
The Spanish also tend to use the subjunctive a lot more than the Italians, and also the correct forms for remote past.

Italian tends to be spoken and pronounced more clearly than Spanish (generally speaking of course), comparing how the languages are spoken in the cities (both can be spoken quite tight in more rural areas).
Subsequently Italian may be more readily picked up if it is spoken clearer.

Italian is really only spoken in Italy however Spanish is spoken by many more people in many countries.

Spanish is not the true name of the language. In Spain there are 4 official languages - Basque, Catalan, Castellano and Galician (and a few other dialects too).

Castellano is the language most spoken throughout Spain and South America and also the language that people refer to as Spanish.

On a personal note I prefer the Italian language - just something about the way it is spoken and the people who speak it.

Good luck with what ever you choose.

Answer 4

I'm Italian and I'm studing spanish, for me spanish is very simple 'cause it's similar to italian.
As concerns grammatic they're very similar, same verbs forms etc..
Maybe in spanish there are more exceptional clauses, but I think that for an english guy Italian is very difficult!
You've less grammatic, and that's fine for me that I'm learning english (with german and spanish)!!!
Bye!!

Answer 5

About the same. The structure of the grammar is basically the same, the way the sentences are constructed, the verbs, the gender of the nouns, phonetics, etc... and they're very similar too, so... it's just really a matter of choice for you.

Answer 6

I bet you are now thoroughly confused by the above answers.

I think with your background you'll find Spanish easier to learn.

Answer 7

It depends on what language you have had the most exposure to. Being from Los Angeles I would have to say Spanish.

Answer 8

Along with French, they're pretty much the easiest languages to learn, none especially easier than the others.

Answer 9

The two languages are alike. If you know some French, I reckon any of them is the same difficult - or easiness - to you

Answer 10

french is better.. and spanish is more easier than italian..